


Operation Parent Trap

by Aerica_Menai



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Blind Date, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-23
Updated: 2018-04-23
Packaged: 2019-04-26 14:24:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14404005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aerica_Menai/pseuds/Aerica_Menai
Summary: When Emma fires Graham as Henry's babysitter, Henry knows exactly who needs to replace him - David's awesome deputy, Killian. But he quickly figures out that Killian could be more than just his babysitter... (Non-magical AU.)





	Operation Parent Trap

**Author's Note:**

  * For [shireness](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shireness/gifts).



> Written as a gift for the lovely @shireness-says, my CS Fic Formal match, whose requests included: Killian having friends, Killian with kids (esp. Henry), Emma and Elsa, and reluctant set-ups; all of which percolated to become this 6k fic. Thank you for the brilliant ideas that led to this fantastic adventure, Shireness, it has been an absolute delight not only writing but also getting to know your wonderful self - I hope you like reading this fic as much as I did writing it :)
> 
> Also many, many thanks to my (incredibly patient) betas, @paalme and @technicallysizzlingcloud, who were absolutely fantastic, and the amazing hosts of the CS Fit Formal event, @distant-rose and @awkwardnessandbaseball, without whose initiative none of this would have happened - much gratitude <3
> 
> Rated T for non-consensual touching and personal space invasion on Graham's part (on a very low scale, but it still makes Emma very uncomfortable and thus, in my opinion, deserves the T rating).

Henry and Killian were staring each other down over a chessboard. This was match #399, the tiebreaker that could finally redeem Henry’s losses from the beginning of their games when he was still learning to play and Killian was wiping the floor with him. Now, Henry was highly capable at chess and determined to continue his winning streak and finally surpass his teacher. Unfortunately, Killian had plenty of surprises up his sleeve - enough to put Henry in checkmate. Henry scowled and pushed over his king while Killian smirked at him. 

“Nice try there, lad,” he chuckled.

Henry scowled harder, then suddenly brightened. “How about a rematch later? Mom’s closing up the ice cream shop tonight so she’ll be home late. You can come over and we can play chess, then I won’t need a babysitter!”

Killian suddenly looked unsure. “Lad, I’m not sure how your mother would feel about me being the one babysitting you tonight - or your usual babysitter, for that matter.”

Henry groaned. “Graham’s boring. He doesn’t tell cool stories like you do, he sucks at chess - actually, all our board games - all he does is talk about Mom.”

Killian squinted suspiciously, opening his mouth as though to say something, when Uncle David poked his head through the doorway. “Alright kid, time for you to head home, Graham’s waiting for you!”

Henry groaned again but quickly packed up the portable chess board and ran out the door. “I’ll beat you tomorrow Killian!” he shouted behind him as he raced out to meet Graham.

***

Killian is left staring after him, clearly unhappy - or at least clearly to David, who asked what was wrong. And instead of coming up with some sort of diverting retort, he blurted the true question on his mind: “Is Graham only babysitting for Emma because he has a crush on her?” 

David just blinked at him before declaring “I can’t have this conversation with you,” and walking away. 

Killian let his head thunk onto his desk.

***

Emma was exhausted after a very long day at work. Declining revenue prompted a meeting attempting to brainstorm new ideas for business, until it was interrupted by an electrical malfunction that would cost even more money that they didn’t have - but now she was home. She could relax, hug her son, watch a mindless show on Netflix and pass out. But, of course, her bad luck continued.

As she paid Graham and went to close the door, Graham stuck his hand out to stop her and blurted, “Would you want to get dinner sometime?” 

She just stared at him, unable to process. He took her shocked silence as a happy one - rather than the overwhelmed feeling that it was - and leaned in, wrapping his hands around her arms and moving in close. Too close.

Emma jerked back and pushed him away. “Graham, I’m - I’m sorry but no. Absolutely not. I’m very tired and I would like you to leave. Now.” 

Graham promptly fled, leaving Emma to slam the door behind him, lean up against it and groan out her frustration. She did not have time for Graham to pull this shit. Rather than the relaxing evening she had hoped for, Emma couldn’t concentrate on anything other than how she had screwed up and was going to have to fire Graham (even though a voice in the back of her head kept reminding her that Graham hadn’t been very professional himself). She tossed and turned all night, worried about how Henry was going to take it.

But when she gingerly brought up getting a new babysitter the next morning over breakfast, rather than getting upset Henry looked over the moon. “Great! Can Killian be my new babysitter?” 

Emma just blinked at him. “…You mean the deputy? Why him?”

Henry shrugged. “He’s really cool - he plays chess with me and he tells great stories!”

Emma snorted. “Okay kid, I can promise I’ll ask him, but no promises he’ll say yes!”

Henry smiled. “I know, Mom. Thanks.” He rushed off to get ready for school while Emma sat and thought about how she was going to ask the hot deputy, her brother’s best friend, to be her new babysitter without embarrassing herself beyond belief. With her luck, there was a guarantee something was going to go wrong.

***

Henry burst into the police station after school already shouting for Killian. Killian grinned, turning around to sweep Henry into a hug and lead him to their designated chess spot. “Feels like Lady Luck has granted me her favors today - are you ready to lose again, lad?” he asked smugly.

Henry rolled his eyes. “You wish. But, there are more important things to discuss: Operation Emu!”

Killian blinked at Henry’s abrupt announcement. “Operation Emu?”

Henry beamed. “Yes! Graham is finally gone, and I need a new babysitter - I want you to do it!”

Killian just stared. Henry just kept smiling. Killian muttered, “I suppose if it’s okay with your mother…”

Henry grabbed Killian’s phone and started pushing buttons. “This is my mom’s phone number, ask her now!”

***

Emma had just walked in the doors of Any Given Sundae, about to open up the store, when her phone rang. She didn’t recognize the number, but it was a local area code - it might be the repairman she had called yesterday about their electric problem. 

She answered the call - “Hello, this is Emma Swan” - but instead of the gruff voice of the repairman, Emma only heard muffled whispers, one of which sounded very familiar. “Hello?” she asked again, louder and more suspiciously.

There was a deep sigh and an unfamiliar voice answered, “Hello Emma, this is Deputy Killian. Henry has a question he wants me to ask you.”

Emma groaned. “Please tell me he didn’t ask you to be his babysitter…”

Killian paused for a second and Emma could almost see him wincing. “I’m afraid so, love. It’s really no trouble, I’m happy to do it, I just wanted to make sure it was okay with you.”

Emma bit her lip. “This would explain why he was so confident you would say yes at breakfast. I swear, I had no idea he would – ”

Killian laughed, cutting her apology off. “Really Emma, I’m happy to do it, he’s a wonderful lad - but, um, if you don’t mind me asking, what prompted the change? I thought Graham was your regular babysitter?”

Emma groaned, loud and long. “Graham…asked an awkward question after a very long day yesterday and I didn’t handle it well. He’s probably scarred for life so I was going to take care of Henry myself tonight and talk to you tomorrow…”

Killian was quiet for a moment. “Honestly Emma, I can take him off your hands tonight and any night you need me to, so you can focus on whatever needs doing. Long days tend to compound into long weeks, so whatever I can do to help, you just say the word.”

Emma stammered, “Uh…taking him tonight and for the rest of the week would be a great start, thank you so much Killian!”

Killian’s smile was audible over the phone. “My pleasure, love. I’ll see you tonight.”

“S-see you.” Emma ended the call and started banging her head against the wall.

***

Elsa walked into Any Given Sundae expecting Emma to be hard at work brainstorming, or dealing with the new repairman Leroy. Instead, she was standing behind the counter staring into the half-empty tubs of ice cream like they held the secrets to the universe.

Elsa winced slightly - more product eaten meant less profits - but she had decided a long time ago her friendship with Emma was more important than her business. “Do you want to tell me what’s up while I scoop you a cone of Moose Tracks or after?” Elsa asked teasingly, grabbing her apron and a scoop. 

Emma moaned into the countertop and slouched over to sit down at the closest table. “I’ll take that as an ice cream first request,” Elsa laughed, scooping a cone of Moose Tracks for Emma and a cup of mint chocolate chip for herself before plopping down in front of her partner. Emma pouted but grumbled out a thank you as she started attacking her cone. Elsa waited patiently as Emma finished off most of the cone, but when Emma was crunching down on the last few pieces, Elsa caught her eye and raised an eyebrow, silently asking what was up. 

Emma rolled her eyes and half dramatically, half in all seriousness wailed “I thought I raised him better than this!” 

Elsa just continued to stare. Emma gently thunked her head on the table and mumbled, “I got a call from Killian earlier – ”

“Wait,” Elsa interrupted, “hot-deputy-you’ve-been-crushing-on Killian?”

“Yep, that’s the one,” Emma sighed. “He was calling because Henry asked him to be his new babysitter.”

Elsa grinned. “Emma! Why on earth is that a bad thing?”

Emma picked up her head and started gesturing wildly. “Because! Because I was supposed to ask him, so I can make sure I trust my kid with him - I mean, what kind of mother lets her kid not only pick their new babysitter but actually lets them ask that potential new babysitter to take the position themselves? Even on the slight - slight! - chance that Killian isn’t offended, what must he think of me as a mother?”

Elsa’s smile dropped. “Emma. You can’t seriously think that Deputy Killian is ever going to think that you are anything other than a fantastic mother? He’s best friends with David and spends a ton of time with Henry, both of whom think you walk on water, not to mention having been raised by a single mother himself and seeing firsthand how wonderful Henry’s turning out to be - minus,” Elsa cuts Emma off as she starts to open her mouth, “one relatively small breach in the proper protocol of how to find a new babysitter.”

Emma smiled. “I guess that’s true. And, you think he’ll be an okay babysitter?” she asked, biting her lip worriedly.

“Killian’s a good guy, we both know he’s great with Henry - he’s going to be a fantastic babysitter.” Elsa replied.

Emma sighed. “Then I guess we should start focusing on work rather than my domestic drama?”

Elsa laughed, “I couldn’t have put it better myself! Let’s get to work.”

***

Emma came home tired but happy - she and Elsa had worked hard today, making progress with Leroy’s help, even if they hadn’t come up with a new way to bring in revenue quite yet. But hey, one step at a time. When she walked in the door and hung up her coat, Killian and Henry were locked in a stare down over a chessboard. Emma rolled her eyes - according to David, these stare downs were epic and most of the time needed outside interference to end. “Hey you two, I’m home,” she called.

Killian turned to face her. “Welcome home Emma!”

Henry stayed silent, still focused on the chess match, but Emma heard a quiet thump and Henry grunted a hello. He reached out to grab a chess piece, but then Emma noticed the clock. “HENRY! You were supposed to be in bed an hour ago!”

Henry turned and winced. “Sorry mom, we lost track of time. Five more minutes?”

Emma squinted at him suspiciously. “Will the game actually end in five minutes?”

Henry squirmed. “Probably not,” he confessed.

“Then it’s bedtime for you, kid.”

Henry sighed. “Got it. Night Killian, night mom!” he called as he headed toward his bedroom.

Emma walked over to where Killian was still sitting. “Sorry love, I should’ve made sure I knew what his bedtime was and stuck to it – ” 

“Hey,” Emma interrupted, “no worries. It was your first night babysitting. Now you know what to expect for tomorrow night. For the record, he should be in bed by ten on school nights and by midnight on the weekend.”

Killian chuckled. “I’ll keep that in mind. How was work?”

Emma groaned as she flopped back on the couch. “We figured out how to fix our electrical problem, now we need to figure out another way to increase profits rather than take another hit when the colder weather starts.”

Killian was quiet for a second. “What if,” he started slowly, “you did something with the princess theme?”

Emma just blinked at him. “What princess theme?”

“Well, Elsa is Elsa - like from that movie, Frozen? - and Swan, your last name, is reminiscent of the princess from Swan Lake. What if you marketed something like - a Princess for a Day program on people’s birthdays, that comes with a tiara and a t-shirt or something? You could even sell ice-cream cakes with Elsa - from the movie - or the Swan Princess on them. Birthdays and birthday cakes are year-round, right?”

Emma stared. “Killian, that’s brilliant.”

Killian flushed. “I wouldn’t say that – ”

“I absolutely would! Oh man, Elsa’s going to love it, let me write this down – ” Emma rattled through her kitchen drawers for a piece of paper and a pencil, scribbling and muttering “princesses, tiara, birthday program, birthday cakes - yes, yes, yes, oh my god, Killian, I could kiss you!” It took a second, but once Emma’s words actually reached her brain, she froze. Did she actually just say that out loud?

***

Killian couldn’t believe what he had just heard. Did Emma just mention kissing him? As in, that was something she was actually thinking about or wanted to do? But before he could say anything, a very flushed Emma was fleeing the room, muttering something about needing a shower and he could leave whenever, just lock the door behind him.

Killian left smiling, a faint hope starting to blossom.

***

When Henry asked what she and Killian had talked about after he went to bed over breakfast the next morning, Emma spit out her coffee all over the table. She blushed fire-engine red and started to stutter out something about princesses and cakes, but Henry wasn’t fooled. Clearly something else had happened last night, but Emma wasn’t talking - luckily, Henry was pretty sure that he could convince Killian to spill the beans.

When he asked Killian, the deputy was also flustered - but differently. “Why, did your mum say anything this morning?” he tried to ask casually (and failing miserably, in Henry’s opinion).

“Nope,” Henry responded, “just went red and said something about princess cakes.”

Killian slumped a bit. “Oh yeah, I mentioned an idea for helping Any Given Sundae get a bit more business.”

Henry looked at him searchingly. “Well, that explains the princess cakes, but not the blushing. Did you guys talk about anything else?”

Killian flushed a light pink and stuttered “W-Well, not talking as such…”

Henry’s jaw dropped to the floor. “You and Mom were kissing??”

“WHAT?” Uncle David thundered, walking in at the worst possible moment.

Killian flushed darker and threw a hand over his eyes, groaning. “No we didn’t kiss! Emma just…mentioned it - in jest, I assume, but she ran out of the room before I could make sure. Then I left, nothing happened!” Killian added quickly as David loomed threateningly over him.

Henry just blinked, pieces falling into place. Killian was acting like Graham did around his mom - but not actually around her, just when he was talking about her. Major improvement. What was really interesting was hearing that his mom had gotten so embarrassed over mentioning kissing like that, usually she was a lot more cool and collected. Maybe, maybe Mom liked Killian - and Killian seemed to like Mom. This required a new operation.

Henry went and tugged on his uncle’s sleeve, stopping him mid-rant. “Uncle David, can I talk to you for a minute?”

***

Mary Margaret was a little surprised to get a call from David in the middle of his workday, but it happened to be the beginning of her class’ recess, so she quickly accepted the call, slightly worried it was some sort of emergency.

“Hey Aunt M, I need your help!”

Mary Margaret smiled. When her nephew couldn’t pronounce her full name and made the connection between Dorothy’s Aunt Em in his and Emma’s favorite movie and his own aunt, the nickname stuck, and it brought a smile to her face every time.

“What can I do for you, Henry?”

“I need you to help me with Operation Parent Trap.”

Mary Margaret was about to reply when she heard noises that sounded a lot like someone wrestling the phone away from Henry - confirmed by Henry’s indignant “hey!” sounding farther away than before - and then her husband was growling over the line, “I don’t think so. Operation Parents or whatever is a bad idea – ”

“David,” Mary Margaret chastised, “I can’t believe you just stole the phone from Henry. Hand it back, I want to hear what he has to say.”

“But – ” David started to whine.

“No buts! For goodness sake, David, even my third-graders know better than to steal the phone when someone’s still talking!”

Mary Margaret heard more grumbling from David and a triumphant “yay!” from Henry when he got the phone back, as well as Henry’s voice getting slightly more echoey; it sounded like she was on speaker now.

“Sorry about Uncle David, he’s just upset about a slight misunderstanding with Killian.”

“Oh?” Mary Margaret asked, intrigued.

“I’ll get to that later. The important thing is, I’m pretty sure that Killian and Emma both like each other, and I need your help to get them on a date without my mom freaking out!”

Mary Margaret blinked, not really expecting that despite the retrospectively obvious operation title. “Henry, are you sure?”

“Positive! Apparently Mom accidentally brought up kissing last night and left the room blushing, and Killian seemed happy about the idea of getting to kiss Mom even after Uncle David got all up in his face ‘cause he thought Mom and Killian were actually kissing – ”

David growled in the background. “I think this is a horrible idea and Killian should stay far away from my little sister – ” 

“I think Operation Parent Trap sounds brilliant, and I’m in!” Mary Margaret declared.

Henry cheered while David’s silence indicated his jaw was probably practically on the floor. Mary Margaret couldn’t help herself, she chuckled as she imagined his face.

“Okay Henry, here’s what we’re going to do…”

***

Killian would have been concerned for whoever was trapped in David’s office with the growling, pacing sheriff - but since it was Henry and he himself was on David’s shit list at the moment, he busied himself with paperwork and keeping his head down rather than getting in the middle of it.

He jumped slightly when he heard the door bang open, but continued to keep his head down - so he missed the glare on David’s face that intensified when Henry gave him an obvious push in Killian’s direction, only to become a slightly sinister smirk. “Hey, you’ve been out of the dating game for a while, right?”

Killian sputtered a half-hearted denial before slumping and releasing a defeated “yes, mate, you know it’s been a while.”

David smiled viciously. “Great, that means you need practice before I’m letting you anywhere near Emma. You’re going on a blind date on Saturday.”

“Wait, what?” Killian blurted, standing up from his desk. “Why in the hell do you think – ” 

David came over to sling his arm around Killian’s shoulders. “As your best buddy, your boss and the big brother of the woman you have your eye on…” Killian gulped as David squeezed. “I really think it’s a good idea.”

Killian sighed. “Sure, blind date on Saturday, I’m free.”

He didn’t notice Henry pumping his fist behind his back, before running forward to distract Killian with another chess game.

***

Emma couldn’t wait to tell Killian how excited Elsa was about his idea - not brilliant, her ass! Elsa was already planning designs for the cakes and posters for the birthday princess program, and even her sketches looked fantastic already. Emma pulled out her phone to call Killian - too impatient to wait until she got home - but before she could, Mary Margaret called her. She picked up quickly. “Hey Mary Margaret! Listen, I was just about to call Killian – ” 

“Nonsense, you’ll see him when you get home, he can wait, but this can’t!”

Emma internally groaned. Please don’t let this have anything to do with Mary Margaret’s investment in her love life…

“You’re going on a blind date this weekend!”

Emma couldn’t help herself; she whined. “Noooo, Mary Margaret; please tell me you didn’t say yes for me already.”

Mary Margaret’s silence was telling.

Emma took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “No way for me to get out of it?” she asked calmly.

“Nope!” Mary Margaret replied happily. “Unless there’s someone else you want to make a date with instead…?” she asked leadingly.

Emma paused, wondering for just a second if Killian…but no, she was employing him now and even if that wasn’t a factor, she had already embarrassed herself enough in front of him for a lifetime, no need to ask him out and have him laugh in her face.

“No,” she responded glumly, “no one. I guess it wouldn’t kill me to go.”

Mary Margaret chirped, “That’s the spirit! It’ll be Saturday evening, so you should come over with Henry for Saturday brunch, I’ll make sure you look fabulous and David and I will babysit for the night. See you then!”

Emma stared at her phone, since apparently Mary Margaret had just hung up on her? Mary Margaret was not someone who was easy to get off the phone, it usually took at least ten minutes of goodbyes before Mary Margaret could bring herself to end a call - but before Emma could finish that train of thought, Elsa swept her into the cake and program planning and she forgot all about Mary Margaret’s weird behavior.

***

Mary Margaret had to hang up quickly before her giggling gave everything away. She was so excited she could burst, and she knew if Emma had heard her laughter she would have had questions - and under an Emma Swan InterrogationTM, Mary Margaret knew she would have folded like a house of cards. Luckily, all was still going according to plan and Mary Margaret texted Henry: Operation Parent Trap is a go! The only other thing was to make sure that Emma wasn’t scared off from going on the date if she saw Killian before entering the restaurant or sitting down. Mary Margaret suddenly grinned. Ruby owed her a favor, and her girlfriend worked at Tony’s…

***

Killian was a horrible person, no way around it. He had promised Emma only yesterday that he would babysit whenever she needed him to, not to worry, and now he was reneging on that promise not even twenty-four hours later. His self-recrimination was distracting, so Henry was wiping the board with him - at least one of them was happy. He was dreading Emma walking through the door – 

“I’m home!” Emma called.

– just like that. He took a deep breath and headed over to talk to Emma - who had a wide, shining smile on her face that caught him completely off guard and scrambled his higher brain functions.

He was even more surprised when she threw her arms around him in a hug, crowing, “I told you your idea was brilliant! Elsa loved it, she’s so excited, and the few people we’ve mentioned it to have loved it and they’ve already promised to either sign up for the program, buy our cakes or both and - Killian, this is such a game-changer for Any Given Sundae, it’s amazing and it’s all thanks to you!” 

She grinned up at him happily, still hugging him, and Killian could hardly breathe - much less speak and actually answer her, so he just kept staring.

***

Emma frowned. “Killian? Are you okay?”

Killian suddenly jolted in her arms - making her realize she was still hugging him, ugh, talk about violating his personal space and being completely unprofessional - so she quickly stepped back and linked her hands behind her, resisting the sudden impulse to get back to that surprisingly wonderful hugging thing.

While Emma had her internal freak out, Killian seemed to recover from whatever was bothering him. “Wow, Emma, that’s bloody fantastic! I’m glad that my little idea was helpful.” He took a deep breath and kept talking before Emma could scoff at how “little” his idea was. “I also, uh, wanted to tell you that I have plans Saturday night and I won’t be able to babysit the lad, I’m so sorry, right after I told you I could do it whenever you needed me to and – ”

“Killian, Killian, slow down.” Emma interrupted. “It’s fine, Mary Margaret already volunteered to babysit Henry Saturday night. We’ll be going over for Saturday brunch and staying for most of the day anyway, no worries.”

Killian let out a huge sigh. “Well, that’s a relief! Sorry for all the buildup, love, I just didn’t want you to think I was letting you down so soon after I promised I wouldn’t do that.”

Emma smiled softly. “Killian, life happens. Even if I hadn’t already heard from Mary Margaret, I would’ve understood - I would’ve canceled my plans or asked someone else to take care of him for the night if I couldn’t, it wouldn’t have been a big deal.”

Killian smiled back at her, that adorable dimple bringing a flush to her face - she whirled around to start doing the dishes, trying to distract him from noticing by asking, “So, what are your Saturday night plans?”

Killian winced and rubbed his hand over the back of his neck. “David’s actually setting me up on a blind date.”

Emma blinked and suddenly there was a splash of soapy water all over her. She spluttered and headed for the paper towel roll to start drying herself off, hearing Killian rush over to help. 

“That plate slipped right out of my hands, is it broken?” she mumbled, not willing to look at Killian and see his reaction. She saw him reach towards her before withdrawing and walking off to the sink.

“Nope, all good, just the water splashing,” he reported, turning back to where Emma was drying herself off.

“Good, good,” she muttered, taking a deep breath before forcing a smile. “It’s funny. I’m actually going on a blind date too.”

Killian blinked at her. “Wh-what?” he stuttered.

Emma choked out a laugh. “Yeah, Mary Margaret’s been setting me up for ages - it slowed down for a while, I knew my luck was going to run out soon. That’s why she’s babysitting Henry, she likes to make sure I look good or whatever before I meet the poor bastard she convinced to be my date for the night.”

Killian just kept blinking at her. “Of course,” he muttered to himself, “that’s why David - I should have known.”

Emma heard the hurt in his voice and despite part of her screaming that she didn’t do emotions, what was she thinking, she walked over and put a hand on his shoulder to try and comfort him. “Killian? What about David?”

He took a step back - her heart twinged, another rejection and another reason she was certain he had no interest in her - and put a smile on his face, clearly forced. “Nothing, love. No need to worry. Since you’re home, I’ll just - head out, if you don’t need anything else?”

Stung by Killian’s clear desire to leave, Emma gritted through her teeth, “Nope, I don’t need anything. Go ahead and leave.”

She turned around and walked back to the sink, ignoring his slow footsteps towards the door. Before opening it, he cleared his throat and softly asked, “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Emma blinked hard, forcing her voice to sound normal. “No, it’s fine, I like to take Henry out to Granny’s on Fridays, celebrate the weekend beginning. Take the evening off, enjoy yourself. But,” she continued hesitantly, “I’ll see you Sunday? Elsa wants to meet up to discuss more marketing stuff, and someone needs to make sure Henry finishes up his homework.”

She didn’t look at him, still scrubbing stains off dishes that weren’t really there, but she could still hear the weak smile in his voice. “Of course, love. Sunday it is.”

When she heard the door shut, she stopped washing the dishes and took a deep breath. She was fine, she was fine, she was fine.

***

And Emma continued to be fine - despite the worried looks she got from Henry over breakfast and Elsa at work.

Every time she started to panic about her upcoming blind date or the fact that Killian was going on a blind date too, she pushed it all down, until she was ready to deal with it - which was definitely not right now. She knew Elsa could tell something was up, but she also knew that Elsa would respect her privacy until Emma felt ready to share; right now that was the last thing Emma felt like doing. So she forged on, emotions be damned. It was already Thursday when Mary Margaret called, so at least she didn’t have to worry about panicking for long. The work day was almost over, then she could go have dinner at Granny’s with Henry, go to sleep and deal with everything tomorrow.

***

Unsurprisingly, Emma did not feel better when she woke up the next morning. She was grouchy getting out of bed - although Henry bringing coffee to her bedroom was very sweet and very appreciated - and shook her out of her funk at least a little bit. When she got to David and Mary Margaret’s loft, and Henry beelined for David while Mary Margaret beelined for her, Emma’s grouchiness kicked up a notch - but she also knew resistance was futile, so she submitted to Mary Margaret’s makeover quietly.

***

Henry ran over to David and asked “How’s Killian doing?”

David just blinked at him. “He was moping a bit yesterday, but I thought it was because of the whole blind-date thing…”

Henry frowned. “Maybe,” he hedged, “but I’m pretty sure he and Mom had a fight on Thursday - or something, because Mom’s been in a funk since he left the house.”

David bit his lip, momentarily regretting he ever got involved in Henry and Mary Margaret’s scheme, before releasing a big sigh and ushering Henry out of the room - out of Emma’s earshot. “I’m sure it’ll be fine, they’ll figure it out over dinner tonight.”

Henry perked up at the reminder. “Yeah,” he agreed.

David pulled out a pack of cards. “Ready to learn Seven Card Stud tonight?”

Henry grinned. “You’re on!”

***

Mary Margaret was a little worried about Emma’s uncharacteristic silence as she ruffled through her closet to the find the perfect outfit and chattered away about her adorable class and all their shenanigans. Despite Emma’s glumness now, Mary Margaret just knew that this date would end well - love always found a way, even if it needed a little outside assistance every once in a while. Emma’s stubborn view of herself as undesirable would make even Cupid himself throw in the towel; luckily, Mary Margaret was made of sterner stuff and had no intention of letting Emma sabotage her love life any longer - this was going to be the second best thing to ever happen to her (second only to her amazing family, Mary Margaret included).

***

Emma was going to show up to the restaurant, as she promised Mary Margaret, but she was going to be as grouchy as she felt right now to scare her date off - then she would be free to go home, curl up on her couch, binge Queer Eye and eat Moose Tracks ice cream until she felt better. If only Mary Margaret had let her choose her own outfit, she’d have a better chance of scaring this guy; but even though she looked like the princess from The Breakfast Club in an admittedly gorgeous pink dress, she would make sure she came off as more of a basket case.

Or at least, that was the plan - until she entered the restaurant to see Killian sitting at a table by himself. She was going to have to watch her crush go on a date with another woman up close and personal? Nope, nope, she was leaving right now - but she screeched to a halt when she noticed who was manning the hostess booth at Tony’s. It was Dorothy, one of Mary Margaret’s friends and girlfriend to the town gossip Ruby. Dorothy had already seen Emma enter and if she saw Emma leave without going on her blind date, Mary Margaret would know within minutes and Emma would be screwed. She had to suck it up and just do it, or else Mary Margaret would pull out the puppy dog eyes and Emma would find herself agreeing to even more awful things she didn’t want to do. It was just one evening, she could do this. She took a deep, deep breath, and walked up to Dorothy. “Hi, Mary Margaret said there would be a table waiting for me?”

Dorothy smiled widely. “Of course, right this way!”

***

Killian knew he was sulking and almost certainly going to ruin this blind date with his attitude, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. He had pushed Emma away, ashamed of his irrational jealousy - the one time she reached out, despite David telling him over and over again how many times she’d been pushed away had created incredibly deep abandonment issues, Killian was too self-absorbed to remember and react accordingly. Instead he just offended her and caused her to put her walls up, the last thing he wanted to do.

As if to remind him how badly he fucked up, Emma walked in looking like a vision in a gorgeous pink dress he had never seen before.

Wonderful. The universe continued to punish him for his mistake - now he would have to watch Emma’s date up close and personal. It was only what he deserved.

He tried to distract himself with a menu, jumping when an unfamiliar female voice gently interrupted him. “Sir? Your date is here.”

Killian took a deep breath and put down the menu - only to gape when he saw the hostess from the front of the restaurant standing at his table with Emma Swan. “Wait, what?” They both asked in unison.

Emma suddenly glared and whirled to face the hostess. “Did Mary Margaret set this up??” she asked angrily. 

The hostess just batted her eyes. “Of course Emma, Mary Margaret sets up all your dates - this is the first time she’s actually guessed right on who you have a crush on though!” 

As Emma started to blush, Killian perked up. Emma had a crush on him? Could it be possible? The hostess winked at him before leaving.

Killian stood up to properly greet Emma, perhaps even pull out her chair if she let him, but she moaned and flung herself into her chair before he could do either. Ah well, plan B, start up conversation.

“I can’t believe she did this!” Emma groaned, hiding her face in her hands as though it might obscure her blush. 

Killian grinned. “Maybe David told her? It’s not like my pining for you has been anything other than ‘disgustingly obvious,’ in his words; honestly, I’m surprised Mary Margaret was able to get him on board.”

Emma slowly drops her hands. “Wait, wait - David thinks you liking me is disgustingly obvious? Not - you know, having a snowball’s chance in hell?”

Killian blinked at her. “Emma, I’m pretty sure I’ve had a crush on you for weeks now - and I’m pretty sure that I was glaringly obvious and you had no interest.”

Emma flushed darker. “Well, I - no I didn’t know,” she hissed, “and obviously I like you, what the hell’s not to like!”

Killian smirked. “Really, love? Do tell,” he drawled.

Emma chuckled. “As though your ego needs anymore stroking.”

Killian pouted.

Emma rolled her eyes, laughing. “Okay, let’s just eat dinner and we can talk about it later.” She raised her water glass and smiled. “To successful first dates and interfering busybodies who make them happen.”

Killian clinked his glass with hers, grinning widely. “I’ll drink to that.”

***

When Emma entered the house smiling, Henry was the first to rush over. “Did you have a good date with Killian??”

Emma hugged him, laughing. “And how did you know, kid? Did Aunt M and Uncle David spill the beans?”

Henry pouted. “Of course not, Operation Parent Trap was my idea in the first place!”

Emma blinked down at him. “W-what?”

Henry just grinned up at her. “I was right though, wasn’t I? He really likes you and you really like him?”

Emma smiled and hugged him harder. “Yeah kid, you did good.”


End file.
